NEW PARLIAMENT.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 778, 30 March 1910, Page 8

NEW PARLIAMENT.

OPENING CEREMONY AT WESTMINSTER. . INTERESTING INCIDENTS. THE ELECTION OF THE SPEAKER.. The representative of the "Daily News," writing on February 15, gives the following interesting description of the opening of the New British Parliament:— This afternoon, as the journals of the House of Commons express it, Parliament was "begun and held at the City of Westminster," t)he hour being "Two of the Clock." The day was. pleasantly .fine, and tie pavements lined with spectators, while' the camera , was much in evidence. Certain members appear to have visited the Palace at unearthly hours, but there was no general rush' for seats. The Beefeaters, otherwise Yeomen of the Guard, duly met at dawn, and from the Prince's Chamber behind the Throne descended to the vaults, theire to discover evidences of any gunpowder' plot which might have been hatched since -Hie Dissolution. To mi expert eye, the table of the, House of Commons wore, an unusual aspect. , The seats were not-. set. .for prayers,' since without a Speaker it is clear that 1 the • Speaker's Chaplain should not officiate,' Archdeacon . Wilberforce was presenA in a side gallery, where also sat Mr. Gully, the Speaker's secretary. No procession delighted strangers in the Inner Lobby. The mace was smuggled into the House by the trainbearer and -secreted below the table. The first act in the drama passed unnoticed. On the table was laid a long green book, containing a list of the names of the new members, delivered over to Sir Courtenay Pere-' grine Ilbert by Sir Kenneth Mackenzie, .Clerk of the Crown in Chancery. ( As the hour of two approached, the House rapidly filled. Sir Frederick Banbury exercised his right of occupying a seat on .the Government Bench for this one day of the opening l session. Mr. Lowther. slipped quietly to a . place next Sir Gilbert Parker on the second Opposition Bench. He had a few words with Mr. Chaplin;' his seconder; - and ' Mr. Burt, his proposer, ■ crossed the House and greeted the prospective Speaker with especial Mr. Redmond was in the building, but not, I think; in the House itself; and a deluge of Tories filled the Benches hitherto sacred to Ireland' and t Labour. Lord Claud' Ham-, ilton occupied Mr: Keir Hardie's seat, and Mr. Henderson''sat in immediate/ almost affectionate, proximity to Lord Hugh' Cecil. I ;

Tho allocation of parties is clearly going to be a delicate matter. Irelaijd will, I; imagine, 'retain her accustomed Benches below the gangway on.the Opposition, side, but the Labour party, which held a 1 meeting later in the day to decide this and other matters, will avail itself of the Speaker's suggestion,' and will sit on the two front benches below' the gangway, on'the Ministerial: side. ' Curious Ritual. A brief hearty, cheer welcomed the Prime Minister as he entered the' House. Mr. Balfour was also ■ warmly greeted/'! Then commenced that curious and in-'j variable ritual-which never loses' its charm, • and which illustrates the in-' tense - that .underlies our - Parliamentary • institutions. ■ Thefe'h's'' a 1 .movement at the.great door;below ; 'the' clock. Black -Bod is - approaching, armed, and, against the intrusion'.'must be applied the safeguard of bolts and' bars. ... Finding: the door closed ih>"hiii ; face, Black Rod knocks three -times with his famous wand, he is inspected through the grating, found harmless, ■admitted, and announced, by the door?' keeper. He advances to the table, bowing three times .to that imaginary aitar behind the Speaker's Chair, which remains a memory of the old St. Stephen's ,- Chapel. Then he delivers ' his message: - "The Lords authorised by. virtue of his Majesty's Commission desire the immediate attendance of this Honourable House in the House 1 of Peers to. hear the Commission read." Even'this simple formula is full of : pitfalls, and Admiral • Stephenson is never quite_ at home with it. . For if the King himself had come to the Upper House the invitation would have been more peremptory. "The King commands"—when the Peers may only "invite." The Clerk leads the way down the floor. The Prime. Minister then rise's briskly, expecting , to walk with Mr. Balfour. But Mr. Balfour, less alert, has hesitated, and to. the amusement of the House, finds himself, as a consequence, partnered with Mr. Churchill, a predicament from which he is rescued by Mr. Asquith's. beckoning. In the •Upper House are seated "on a form between the Throne and the Woolsacks," five scarlet-robed, black-hatted, figures, quito motionless and inanimate.- The distant remote voice of the Lord Chancellor, as if from another world, . authorises the Letters Patent to be read, which means in one, sentence that his Majesty graciously permits "You, gentlemen of the House of Commons,'' to "repair to the place where you are to sit and -there proceed to the choice of some proper person to be your Speaker.": In ten minutes that "place" was again crowded and expectant. - "Father" of the House. - From the ■ orthodox third comer ; seat behind the Government rises a slight, bearded,, scholarly-looking member, venerable in years, though still-with hair unwhitenea, the Eight Hon. Thomas Burt, first elected thirty-sis years ago, and now "Father" of the House. He is a Northumberland miner. His speech in proposing Mr. Lowther as First Commoner was flavoured with that exquisite Northumbrian burr which it is impossible to imitate, and which lent a peculiar charm to sentences' of perfect literary finish. Almost every phrase was softened by a certain' delicate humour, implied rather than expressed. Therewas that slight hesitation and hint of nervousness which flatter the . House and engage its sympathies. The one sentence in Mr. .Burt's speech which evoked a deeper response was his emphatic declaration that Mr. Lowther would, if elected, uefend die privileges of the House'from encroachments, whatever might .be the quarter from which they wero threatened.. This veiled" reference to the crisis was echoed in different terms by' Mr. Chaplin, who reminded the House that the responsibilities of the hour are peculiarly grave. The new members, listening- to Mr., Lowther, may have wondered by what influenoe or charm this genial, unassuming country gentleman has won such tributes of respect and affection from a House which gathers to itself the most brilliant statesmen of the day. Mr. Lowlier aimed at no eloqnence, the only humour in his speech was good' humour; not one sentence of it could be described as clever, and the only quotation was of the most familiar type. The secret of his success is really the secret of the House itself. Mr. Lowther represents the House of Commons just as the House represents the nation. He is the perfect President of a perfecKly democratic club. . Conducted to the Chair. . Amid resounding cheers, Mr. Burt stepped down tho gangway and across tho floor. Taking Mr. Lowther by the 'hand, he led him to the table,. where] Mi., Chanlin-took tha ot.W hand.

Thus the Speaker-Elect was conducted past the Government Bench to the Chair, on the steps of which he stood for a moment before again thanking the House. The Prime Minister's congratulations were brief, yet adequate. Mr. Balfour merely corroborated lie tribute. Mr. Henderson, searching for his scattered battalions and seeing only his neighbour, Lord Hugh Cecil, aroused laughter as he employed his well-known phrase: "Speaking on behalf of those on these Benches with whom I am usually associated." Then suddenly a change occurred. The old voice resounded from beneath the Speaker's canopy, as Mr. Lowther, in well-known tones, declared the House adjourned.